ABSTRACT
O'Brien, an Irish expatriate, has been sexually candid in her works. This candidness, plus being a woman, has added to her appeal to her reading public, especially in the United States, where she is criticized as much as she is celebrated. Her professional readers are, it seems, on the lookout for the least echo of Joyce, the least emotional excess, the least indication of derivative lyricism or self-indulgence. Scrutiny has been even more intense because she writes so well so often.
